State law requires that the population of Pacific

sardines, Sardinops sagax caeruleus, must reach a

minimum spawning biomass of 20,O0O short tons before

initiation of a fishery. Data from ichthyoplankton

surveys, the anchovy live bait fishery, sea survey

cruises, and the jack mackerel purse seine fishery

are analyzed for evidence of an increase in

population size. Presently, the spawning biomass

of the northern stock of sardines remains far below

20,000 tons.  (9pp.

Klingbeil, Richard A.

English

Aquatic Commons


STATUS OF THE SPLIIrr7-ITNG BIOMASS 1 /OF TIIE PACIFIC SAEtDINE, 1978-79 - 
i s
by 
2 / Richard A. Kl ingbe f l  - 
S t a t e  law r e q u i r e s  t h a t  t h e  popula t ion  of P a c i f i c  
s a r d i n e s ,  Sard<nops sagm cacruZeus, must reach  a 
minimum spawning biomass of 20,OCO s h o r t  t o n s  be fo re  
i n i t i a t i o n  of a f i s h e r y .  Data from ichthyoplankton 
surveys,  t h e  ancnovy l i v e  b a i t  f i s h e r y ,  s e a  survey  
c r u i s e s ,  and t h e  jack rnackerel purse  s e i n e  f i s h e r y  
are ~ n a l y z e d  f o r  evidence of an i n c r e a s e  i n  
papu la t j  on s i z e .  P r e s e n t l y ,  the spawning biomass 
of the nort l iern s tock  of s a r d i ~ l e s  remains f a r  below 
20,000 tons.  
11 Marine Resources, Administrat ive Report No. 79-1 
- 
3anuarp 19 79. 
2 /  Marine Resources Regioa, 350 Golden Shore, Long Beach, C a l i f o r n i a  
- 
90802. 
STATUS OF THE SPAWNING BIOIIASS 
OF THE PACIFIC SARDINE, 1978-79 
RECOMMENDATIONS 
This  r e p o r t  is  presented  i n  response t o  S t a t e  l e g i s l a t i o n  r e q u i r i n g  
t h a t  t h e  Ca l i fo rn i a  Department of F i sh  and Game annual ly  a s s e s s  t h e  
s t a t u s  of t h e  spawning popula t ion  of t h e  no r the rn  s tock  of P a c i f i c  s a r -  
d ines ,  Sar&nops sagax cueruleus. Once t h e  spawning popula t ion  reaches  
20,000 s h o r t  t ons ,  t h e  Department w i l l  a l l ow a f i s h e r y  of 1,000 tons  pe r  
year .  
As  of January 1979, t h e  spawning popula t ion  of no r the rn  s t o c k s  of 
P a c i f i c  s a r d i n e s  i s  Ear below 20,000 s h o r t  tons .  The Department recom- 
mends t h a t  r e s t r i c t i o n s  concerning i n c i d e n t a l  ca t ches  r e n a i n  i n  f o r c e  
and no f i s h e r y  be i n i t i a t e d  i n  1979. 
INTRODUCTION 
This  i s  t h e  f i f t h  annual  r e p o r t  concerning t h e  s t a t u s  of t h e  s a r d i n e  
spawning biomass. It i s  s i m i l a r  t o  prev ious  r e p o r t s  (K l ingbe i l ,  1975, 
1976, 1977, and 1978) i n  t h a t  no d i r e c t  e s t ima te s  of spawning biomass 
a r e  c a l c u l a t e d ,  bu t  four  s e p a r a t e  sources  of d a t a  a r e  d i scussed  a s  they  
r e l a t e  t o  p o s s i b l e  i nc reases  i n  t h e  spawning biomass of P a c i f i c  s a rd ines .  
K l ingbe i l  (1975) summarized h i s t o r i c a l  l andings  by p o r t  and descr ibed  
l e g i s l a t i o n  enacted f o r  t h e  purpose of reducing f i s h i n g  p r e s s u r e  on 
sa rd ines .  
ICHTHYOPLANKTON DATA 
Published e s t ima te s  of s a r d i n e  spawning biomass from egg and l a r v a l  
d a t a  a r e  no t  a v a i l a b l e  s i n c e  1969, a l though ichthyoplankton surveys  have 
been conducted i n  1972, 1975, and 1978. However, t h e  r e l a t i v e l y  few 
s a r d i n e  eggs and l a r v a e  c o l l e c t e d  dur ing  t h e s e  y e a r s  (Paul  Smith, 
Nat iona l  Marine F i s h e r i e s  Serv ice ,  La J o l l a ,  pers .  ccmmun.) suggest. t h e  
s a r d i n e  biomass has  remained a t  extremely low' l e v e l s  dur ing  th.e e n t i r e  
per iod.  
The 1978 survey,  which was modified t o  a l l ow f o r  a t imely  ca l cu la -  
t i o n  of no r the rn  anchovy, E~grauZis  mordm, spawning biomass, d i d  o f f e r  
a r ay  of hope f o r  t h e  resurgence of t h e  P a c i f i c  s a r d i n e .  Sardine. eggs 
and l a r v a e  were encountered i n  " subs t an t i a l "  numbers a t  two widely 
separa ted  nearshore  s t a t i o n s  o f f  Newport Reach and j u s t  sou th  of Ensenada 
(Paul  Smith, pe r s .  commun.). Although t h e s e  were r a r e  and i s o l a t e d  
even t s ,  they  may poss ib ly  s i g n a l  a s m a l l  i n c r e a s e  i n  spawning biomass 
s i n c e  s a r d i n e  eggs and l a r v a e  have Seen v i r t u a l l y  non-exis tent  i n  
ichthyoplankton tows s i n c e  1969. More important t h e s e  occurrences  may 
p o i n t  t o  a r e l a t i v e l y  minor success  i n  spawning dur ing  1978, w i th  t h e  
p o s s i b i l i t y  of a s i g n i f i c a n t  i n c r e a s e  i n  biomass dur ing  1979. 
LIVE BAIT FISHERY DATA 
Kl ingbe i l  (1976) b r i e f l y  d e s c r i b e s  t h e  n a t u r e  of  h i s t o r i c a l  ciata 
c o l l e c t i o n  from t h e  southern  C a l i f o r n i a  l i v e  b a i t  f i s h e r y .  This  f i s h e r y  
ope ra t e s  p r imar i ly  i n  nearshore  wa te r s ,  and h i s t o r i c a l l y  both  a d u l t  
and juven i l e  s a r d i n e s  have been caught i n c i d e n t a l  t o  f i s h i n g  f o r  
anchovies.  
During t h e  summer of 1978, l i v e  b a i t  f i s h i n g  l o g s ,  which were 
previous ly  turned  i n  on a vo lun ta ry  b a s i s ,  became mandatory wi th  t h e  
implementation of t h e  P a c i f i c  F i s h e r i e s  Management Counci l ' s  anchovy 
management plan.  This  r e s u l t e d  i n  a more f r equen t  and c o m ~ l e t e  r eco rd  
of t h e  f i s h e r y ' s  ca t ches  and a ~ t ~ v i t i e s .  
The l o g  d a t a  dur ing  1.978 i n d i c a t e  t h a t  j uven i l e  s a r d i n e s ,  p r i m a r i l y  
i n  t r a c e  q u a n t i t i e s ,  occurred i n  l i v e  b a i t  ca t ches  o f f  San Diego, 
Oceanside, Newport Beach, Redondo Beach, P o r t  Hucncme, and Oxnard. 
Although t h e  frequency of occurrence was r e l a t i v e l y  h igh  f o r  some a r e a s  
i n  c e r t a i n  months ( i . e .  San Diego fishermen encountered j u v e n i l e  s a r d i n e s  
on 37 percent  of t h e i r  f i s h i n g  days dur ing  September, 1978),  no t  enough 
s i m i l a r  h i s t o r i c a l  da t a  e x i s t  t o  a l low f o r  comparisons t h a t  i d g h t  
sugges t  a n  i n c r e a s e  i n  spawning biomass o r  a r e l a t i v e  spawning succes s  
dur ing  1978. However, i t  i s  t h e  a u t h o r ' s  op in ion  t h a t  t h e  s a r d i n e  pop- 
u l a t i o n  has  experienced a moderate i n c r e a s e  dur ing  t h e  p a s t  year .  This  
op in ion  w a s  e s s e n t i a l l y  formed a f t e r  l i v e  b a i t  f i s h e r y  observation 
t r i p s  dur ing  t h e  s m e r  of 1978. On f o u r  of s i x  t r i p s ,  from d i f f e r e n t  
p o r t s  dur ing  June and J u l y ,  j u v e n i l e  s a r d i n e s  were observed i n  t r a c e  
q u a n t i t i e s  mixed wi th  t h e  anchovy ca tches .  During t h e  previous  3 
summers (1975-77), involv ing  more than  20 obse rva t ion  t r i p s ,  s a r d i n e s  
were observed only once. 
SEA SUKVkY CRUISES 
The i n t e n s i v e ,  nearshore,  mid-water t r a w l  survey f o r  1978 t o  
assess young-of-the-year anchovy, s a r d i n e  and P a c i f i c  mackerel,  S c d e r  
japonicus, was not  conducted due t o  breakdowns and subsequent unscheduled 
overhauls  of t h e  R/V "ALASKA". 
During 1976 and 1977, s a r d i n e s  w e r e  sampled i n  2.8 and 2.5 percent  
r e s p e c t i v e l y  of t h e  mid-water t r awl s .  I n  a c t u a l  numbers only  f i v e  sar- 
d ines  were taken i n  f o u r  of t h e  153 t r a w l  s t a t i o n s  conducted i n  1976 
and 1977. 
JACK MACKEREL FISHERY DATA 
Sard ines  t h a t  school  with jack  mackerel,  T r a c h m s  sy?mietricus, 
have h i s t o r i c a l l y  been observed i n  j ack  mackerel l and ings ,  p r i m a r i l y  as 
a d u l t  f i s h  (2  yea r s  o l d  and o l d e r ) .  
Sardines were seldom observed i n  t h e  1978 and 1977 l and ings .  Fewer 
than  5 tons  a r e  es t imated  t o  have been landed wi th  approximately 100,000 
t o n s  of jack and P a c i f i c  mackerel dur ing  t h e s e  yea r s  (Addenda 1 and 2 ) ,  
whi le  an es t imated  27 tons  were 1.anded wi th  only 22,000 t o n s  of mackerel 
dur ing  1976 (Addendum 3 ) .  P.is i n f o - m a t i o n  sugges ts  a cont inuing  d e c l i n e  
. . 
i n  t h e  numbers of a d u l t  f i s h  and thus  t h e  spawning biomass dur ing  t h e  
most r ecen t  yea r s .  
SUMMAZY AND CONCLYSIONS 
Although a d i r e c t  e s t ima te  of t h e  spawning biomass f o r  1978 was no t  
a t tempted,  a l l  a v a i l a b l e  da t a  sugges ts  t h a t  t h e  spawning biomass of t he  
no r the rn  s tock  of s a r d i n e s  has  cont inued i t s  d e c l i n e  dur ing  t h e  per iod  
1976 t o  1978. The s tock  i s  judged t o  be  f a r  below t h e  20,000 t o n s  
r equ i r ed  t o  i n i t i a t e  a ha rves t .  Although some informat ion  sugges t s  
t h a t  ilhe i 9 i 8  spawning was r e l z t i v e l y  mo'i-c s u c c e s s f u l  t5an i n  r a c e n t  
y e a r s ,  t h e  progeny of t h i s  spawning w i l l  no t  c o n t r i b u t e  t o  t h e  spawning 
biomass u n t i l  1980. Consequently r e s t r i c t i o n s  concerning t h e  in ten-  
t i o n a l  f i s h i n g  and inc identa l .  c a t ches  of s a r d i n e s  should remain i n  
fo rce .  
REFERENCES 
Kl ingbe i l ,  Richard A. 1975. S t a t u s  of t h e  spawning biomass of t h e  
P a c i f i c  s a rd ine ,  1974-75. Ca l i f .  Dep. F ish  Game, Mar. Resour. 
Adm. Rep. 75-2 : 1-14. 
. 1976. S t a t u s  of t h e  spawning biomass of t h e  P a c i f i c  s a r d i n e ,  
1975-76. C a l i f .  Dep. Fish Game, Mar. Resour. Adm. Rept. 76-4:l-9. 
. 1977. S t a t u s  of t h e  spawning biomass of t h e  P a c i f i c  s a r d i n e ,  
1976-77. Cal i f .  Dep. F ish  Game, Mar. Resour. Adm. Rept. 77-7:l-6. 
. 1978. S t a t u s  of t h e  spawning biomass of t h e  P a c i f i c  s a r d i n e ,  
1977-78. Ca l i f .  Dep. F i s h  G a m e ,  Mar. Resour. Adm. Rep. 78-1:l.-6. 





Status of the spawning biomass of the Pacific sardine, 1978-79

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Status of the spawning biomass of the Pacific sardine, 1978-79

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